


If You Like It

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Break Up, M/M, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, P.O.V. steve rogers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Gamora, Protective Peter Quill, Tony Stark deserves happiness, but it's extra nice when other people are standing around you, he can stand up for himself, he gets soundly put in his place, i am super salty at steve, no gotg 2 spoilers, not team Cap friendly, or actually they were already broken up, protective groot, see the water around me it's all salt, steve and tony break up, steve just didn't realize that, steve pushes the boundaries of consent, stevge rogers is arrogant, suck it steve, tony stark takes no prisoners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 03:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11304615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Steve and the team return to the compound thinking that things can just go back to the way they were. Steve is even ready to pick up dating Tony where they left off.What Steve doesn't expect is that he's been replaced.





	If You Like It

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, this has sat on my USB drive for like 3+ weeks and its title was "Steve is an idiot". I figured I should try to finish it up already. Some of it was written before I saw GOTG 2, which is why Mantis isn't involved.
> 
> The first portion of this was posted on tumblr, but I decided it could be expanded on just to rub it in Steve's face a little more. I pulled elements from these two prompts (unfortunately I couldn't cram everything into one fic), given to me by anons on tumblr:
> 
>  _StarkQuill post CW the team returns thinking but they can pick up where they left off thinking everythings fine But Tony has the Guardians now and prefers to spend time with them, Spider-Man & Rhodey but he knows he'll need the Avengers for the big battle. Steve thinks that now that he's back he can be with Tony again but soon realizes Tony's moved on with Quill and becomes possessive and jealous of Tony believing once the GOTG are gone everything will be fine but it wont, Tonys done with him_  
> +  
>  _Could i request StarkQuill where Steve just doesnt get the message Tony isn't interested anymore and recruits his side of the avengers to help Tony see he is the perfect man with emotional manip (my ex did this) perhaps even going as far as to pin him causing a panic attack only for Rocket to show up and shoot the guy, cos hellno, gotg tumbling in because friend is being harassed and that is a no-no for decent beings like Quill & bae. Maybe even Quill blurt proposal at end when yelling at Steve?_

Even after two years, the compound hadn’t changed much. It was a welcome sight after months spent on the run. Steve could feel the tension uncoiling from his shoulders and he hadn’t even gone inside yet. He couldn’t wait to go into his own kitchen and make himself a sandwich, then go to his own bedroom and have a nap in his own bed.  
Maybe with his own boyfriend. 

He eyed Tony, but didn’t approach just yet. Tony was talking to what looked like a group of baby SHIELD agents. That was one of the changes. The compound was no longer reserved solely for the Avengers; some SHIELD agents and a few other superheroes were housed here as well. The change wasn’t exactly welcome, but Steve figured he’d give it a few weeks and then explain to Tony why the compound was best kept for the team. 

When the crowd of agents dispersed and Tony took out his phone, Steve figured that meant he wasn’t doing anything important. He stepped closer and cleared his throat. Nothing. Tony didn’t look up from the screen of his phone. Steve rolled his eyes, amazed all over again at Tony’s lack of manners, and spoke. 

“Tony. Wanda wanted me to let you know that some of her clothes are too small now.”

“Thanks for that insight,” Tony said, still without looking up, thumbs flying across the screen of his phone. 

Steve frowned at the top of his head. “She’ll need some new ones,” he persisted. 

“Then she can get a job and buy them herself.” 

“Tony! That’s not very nice.” 

With a put-upon sigh, Tony finally locked his phone and put it away. “I didn’t mean for it to be nice. You’re only ten minutes from the nearest town. I’m sure someone is hiring.” 

Steve shook his head. Looked like Tony’s bad attitude was still sticking around. He’d have to broach the subject again, maybe after they had sex. Tony was always much more agreeable after a good thorough fucking. He reached for Tony’s hand, fully intending to pull Tony into his arms, maybe whisper a suggestion for them to find a nearby closet so Tony could blow him - he’d missed Tony’s mouth for that, at least. 

He was caught off guard when Tony jerked out of reach. At the same time, this tiny plant thing appeared out of nowhere and started kicking Steve in the shins. The hits barely hurt - he’d felt worse when he stubbed his toe - but Steve still stumbled back, more out of surprise than anything else. 

“I am Groot!” the tiny thing yelled. “I am Groot!” 

“Groot!” Tony exclaimed. “What are you doing?!”

“What the hell is this?” Steve demanded. “Another one of your inventions? Did you create another robot, Tony?” He just barely kept himself from uttering the name ‘Ultron’, but only because Wanda was within hearing distance and that name tended to upset her. 

He shifted his weight and froze when a knife appeared at his throat. He hadn’t even seen the woman move, and she would’ve been impossible to miss. Her bright green skin and purple-tipped hair was extraordinarily noticeable. 

“Don’t touch them,” she hissed. “Or I’ll slit your throat.” 

“Gamora!” Tony said, now sounding more exasperated than surprised. “What part of 'please lay low for the day’ did you guys not grasp?” 

“Drax understood.” Another man joined them, sliding an arm around Tony’s shoulders. “He’s in his bedroom laying on the floor. I heard him asking Rocket if that was low enough.” 

Tony giggled. It was a sound Steve had never heard before. He stared at Tony, who flushed. 

“So you’re Steve,” the man said, looking at Steve and baring his teeth. It was decidedly not a smile. “I’m Peter Quill.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Steve said automatically. The movement of his throat caused the knife to knick his skin and he winced. Gamora rolled her eyes and drew back, looking at the blood on the blade of her - not a knife, holy shit - sword with disdain. 

“Are all Earthlings this stupid?” she asked Peter. “Who speaks when there is a blade flush against their throat?” 

Steve touched a hand to his throat, feeling the wound already closing, and half-wondered whether he should be trying to get at his shield. “I think a better question is who puts a sword to someone’s throat two seconds after meeting them?” 

“I think I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Gamora said. She scooped up the tiny plant thing - what had Tony called it? Groot? - and passed it to Tony. Groot clambered up onto Tony’s shoulder and glowered at Steve. 

“Okay,” Tony said loudly. “I think we’re done here. Steve.” He nodded at Steve absently, already turning away. He leaned comfortably into Quill’s side as they walked past. Gamora fell into step on Tony’s other side, her sword held down at her side. Groot twisted around and pointed two fingers at its eyes and then at Steve, which Sam had explained meant 'I’m watching you’. 

Steve just stared. He had the feeling he was missing something.

"I guess that didn't go so well, huh?" Sam said. Steve turned around to see that everyone was watching him. It was kind of comforting to see that Clint and Natasha had their hands on their firearms: proof they would've stepped in if Gamora had gotten more violent. But Steve couldn't help feeling embarrassed that they'd all seen him get blown off.

"Looks like Stark still has his head up his ass," said Clint. "I guess he thinks he's so special now that he doesn't need us anymore."

"Typical Stark," Natasha murmured, crossing her arms.

"What am I going to do about my clothes?" Wanda wanted to know. 

Natasha wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll figure something out."

The longer Steve stood there and listened to his team chat amongst themselves, the less embarrassed he felt. Because they were right. Tony was the one with an attitude problem here, not Steve. Clearly all this time apart had made Tony forget how to be a part of the team. And it had also made Tony forget just how good he and Steve were together. 

Apparently, Steve would have to remind him.

"I'm gonna talk to Tony again at dinner tonight," he told them. "I need to get a handle on this now before Tony gets out of control. We don't want any more Ultron's running around."

Wanda winced at the name and huddled into Natasha's side. Natasha gave her a comforting squeeze and then led her into the compound. Steve followed. He felt another swell of frustration when they got to Wanda's room and he saw her empty closet. Tony had plenty of money, more than one person could hope to spend. He was just being petty by refusing to share.

That would change. Steve would make sure of it. 

True to his word, he did look for Tony that night. But Tony didn't show up. In fact, the only people who showed up to the cafeteria were Steve, Natasha, Sam and a handful of young SHIELD agents who made it a point to keep their distance. Sam smiled at one of them and the poor girl went red as a tomato and dumped her glass of milk in her lap. After that, Sam bent over his meal and didn't look up.

As the minutes ticked by and no one else showed up, Steve came to the conclusion that Tony was deliberately avoiding him. He clenched his jaw in frustration and shoved his tray away. Without a word to Natasha or Sam, he got up and stormed out of the room. He took the elevator back down to the living quarters.

He hadn't bothered to go by the room that he and Tony shared yet, having spent the afternoon with Wanda. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to return until things had been settled between he and Tony; he'd hoped, foolishly he realized now, that it would be a happy affair wherein Steve would carry Tony over the threshold and then they'd go to bed together. Instead, he was stepping over it alone.

The room looked different.

Steve stopped short and stared. Originally, the room had been a good mixture of him and Tony - though Steve had made it a point to make sure that Tony's electronics crap didn't overtake everything else. Their king sized bed had taken up most of the room, anyway. But now the walls were suspiciously bare and the bed had no sheets on it, and, when Steve checked the closet, it was empty. He stood in the middle of the room and slowly came to the conclusion that Tony had moved out.

"What a spoiled brat," Steve said out loud, shaking his head in amazement. So this was how Tony had chosen to react to the Avengers returning to the compound. He couldn't believe how childish Tony was being. What was he trying to do, punish Steve?

This had to end. Now.

"FRIDAY, where is Tony?" he demanded.

"Boss is having a picnic out on the lawn," FRIDAY replied.

A picnic? Out on the _lawn_?! Incredulity growing, Steve took the stairs two at a time until he was back up on the main level. As soon as he walked outside he could hear the sound of laughter. He followed the sound and easily spotted Tony, Rhodey, Gamora, Peter, and one other man Steve didn't know - and was that a talking raccoon? - having a picnic up on the hill. He started walking up towards them.

One by one, they noticed him coming and the laughter and smiles stopped. Tony stood up. Peter grabbed his hand and said something to him; Steve couldn't make out what. Tony said something back and Peter let go. Tony turned to face him instead and crossed his arms. 

"What can I do for you, Rogers?" Tony asked.

"I want to know why you think this childish tantrum is going to get you anywhere," Steve said wearily. "Really, Tony. Moving out of our bedroom? Was that necessary?"

"I'd say it's very necessary considering that our relationship is over."

"We're not over."

Tony stared at him. "Are you kidding me? Things between us ended when you smashed a shield into my chest."

Steve sighed. "Is that what this is about? Tony, look. I told you before, Bucky and I are just friends," he said as patiently as he could, feeling like he was talking to a small child. He couldn't count how many times he'd explained that to Tony, yet still Tony wouldn't believe him. It was maddening.

"Believe me when I say I don't give a fuck what the relationship between you and Barnes is," said Tony. "It makes no difference to me. Because we're over."

"We're not over," Steve said again. "That's not your choice to make." He took a step forward.

"Back off," the talking raccoon snarled. From somewhere - Steve had no idea _where_ \- he produced a huge gun and aimed it at Steve. The others stood up. Steve was left with the uncomfortable feeling of being vastly outnumbered and that he should have brought his shield. He tried to ignore it.

"Rocket!" Tony exclaimed. "Seriously, you guys, when I said no weapons, I meant it."

"You told us no weapons, but clearly your old team does not follow that rule," said the last man. He was huge, probably about Thor's size, and there were strange red markings all over his skin.

Tony just sighed and put a hand to his face. "I was hoping for a peaceful meeting, Drax. That's why I told you to lay low."

"I do not understand the purpose of laying on the ground," Drax said to Gamora. She patted him on the arm. It didn't escape Steve's notice that her other hand was resting on a blade.

"You say that, but we're not the ones who have pulled out weapons every time we meet," Steve said. 

Rhodes let out a bitter laugh. "That's a good one, Rogers. Don't think I didn't notice that Wanda's hands were glowing red from the moment Tony stepped outside to greet you this afternoon."

"You were watching?" Steve said in surprise, because he hadn't noticed Rhodes, and then shook his head. "Wanda uses her magic in mundane things to practice," he explained. "That's all that was."

"Yeah, sure," Rhodes said. "It had nothing to do with terrorizing Tony." 

"Wanda would never do that!"

"Right," Tony said dryly. "Are we done here?"

"No, we're not done! I told you, that's not your choice to make." He reached for Tony's hand.

In the time it took for him to blink, there was a repulsor in his face. Steve blinked in shock, taking a hasty step backwards. His eyes swept past Tony, focusing on the two guns - Rocket and Rhodey - and Gamora's sword, all of which were also pointed in his direction. Drax was cracking his knuckles. Groot, who was sitting on Drax's shoulder, snarled and shook a tiny fist at Steve. The only one who hadn't reacted was Peter, who was just standing there with a smirk on his face.

"I said," Tony said, very calmly, "that we're done. Finished. And I _do_ get to make that decision, regardless of whether you like it or not. If you don't understand why, feel free to ask one of your teammates. I'm sure that Wilson or Romanov will give you a run-down of what consent means and why it's so important." He sounded kind of mocking, and it got Steve's hackles up.

"You're just throwing a childish tantrum!" he snapped. "Trying to punish me for doing what needed to be done! You won't make me regret saving Bucky."

"I'm not trying. I don't care anymore," Tony said. He studied Steve for a moment, then twisted his wrist. The repulsor seamlessly melted away from his hand, reforming as a watch. Tony still held his hand up in the air, but now he was showing Steve the back of his hand instead of his palm. It took Steve a moment to understand what Tony was trying to show him. When he did, his heart stopped.

There was a ring on Tony's finger.

"That would be mine. I put a ring on it," Peter said, wrapping an arm around Tony's shoulders.

Tony snorted. "I never should have introduced you to music written after the 1970's."

"You know you love it, Angel."

Steve ignored their chatter, staring at the ring. It was a small red stone that appeared to constantly shift colors, from light pink to a shade so dark it looked black, inlaid in a simple, double looped gold band. The stone couldn't have been from Earth, and it wasn't what he would have expected Tony to wear. Yet Tony looked at the ring with a mixture of fondness and awe that made Steve's chest hurt.

"Tony, I - you -" He stuttered.

The emotion faded from Tony's face when he looked back at Steve. "Go back to the compound," he said, and Steve heard what he didn't say just as clearly: that Steve didn't belong here. Not anymore.

"Yeah, get lost. Or I'll test this baby out on your ass," Rocket said, patting the side of the gun.

That was the last thing Steve wanted to do. He knew that if he could get Tony alone, he could convince Tony to give them another shot. But there was no speck of sympathy in the faces staring at him, and to press the issue now would mean a fight breaking out. A fight that Steve wouldn't win. He scowled and turned, heading back towards the compound. No matter what Tony said, this wasn't over.

He was only halfway down the hill when a voice called after him.

"Rogers! Hey! Wait up!"

Steve turned automatically. "What?" he demanded as Peter jogged down to him. Above, he saw Tony staring down at them worriedly.

"I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea about Tony and me," Peter said. "I mean, we're not engaged."

"You're not?" Steve repeated, eyeing him. The ring had been on the ring finger of Tony's left hand, but Sam had once told him about the idea of promise rings. His hopes rose slightly. If all Tony was wearing was a promise ring, then it would be that much easier to get him to see clearly.

Peter smiled, showing his teeth. "Nope. We got married three months ago."

"What?" Steve yelped, much louder than he had last time. Suddenly, he realized that Tony's ring wasn't a double band at all. The ring with the stone was an engagement ring, and the simpler gold band was a _wedding ring_.

"I know you'll want to give Tony your congratulations once you think about it," Peter said, still smiling. "I'm sure you know better than to say anything else to him. My team is pretty protective of him, and that's if anything is left after Jim and the spider kid are finished kicking your ass."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to make it clear where everyone stands. For the sake of team unity and all," Peter said. "My husband is an amazing man. I love him a lot. I would rather not have to execute his old team, but I will if that's what it takes." He shifted his jacket, letting Steve see the array of weaponry he was wearing. 

In the process, he also showed Steve his left hand: the wedding band he was wearing was made of silver metal. "It's vibranium," Peter added, and didn't that just piss Steve off even more.

"Tony is mine," Steve hissed.

"Pretty sure that's Tony's decision, and he's already made it. What can I say? I was smart enough to see Tony for what he is. You had your chance, and you were dumb enough to piss it away." Peter smirked at him. "I'm glad we had this conversation, Rogers."

He turned and sauntered back up the hill. Steve watched him go, clenching his fists. As soon as Peter was within reach, Tony grabbed him by the lapel of his jacket and hauled him into a kiss. Watching the two of them was too painful, and Steve quickly turned back around and continued on towards the compound. Natasha had warned him that there might be a couple of changes when they returned, but Steve hadn't expected for things to be like this. He blindly walked back indoors, feeling like breathing was a struggle.

How could Tony do this to him?

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
